Three Chicago men were charged with armed robbery after they accidentally ran inside a suburban police department while trying to avoid being captured, authorities said.

Squad cars chased a speeding vehicle along southbound Route 41, exiting on Old Deerfield Road in Highland Park before the vehicle crashed at Richfield Avenue.

The crash happened adjacent to a parking lot at the Highland Park Police Station.

Highland Park Deputy Chief Timothy Wilinski told the Chicago Tribune the men tried to flee the scene of the crash, but one was taken into custody in the parking lot of the police station. Two others allegedly continued into the lobby of the building, where they then hid behind a vending machine. Eventually, they too were taken into custody. –NBC 5 Chicago

So, to recap:

◊ Instead of making a clean getaway, they are chased by the police
◊ They crash the getaway car
◊ Trying to escape on foot, they run into a police station.

I have the perfect song for these miscreants. If it wasn’t for bad luck, they wouldn’t have no luck at all.

That’s why Rodney Dangerfield’s “I can’t get no respect” is so great. It is a universal human cry, and his whole persona manages to convey it.

It is the comedic version of Death of a Salesman’s Willie Loman. As Willie’s wife says of him “attention must be paid.”

Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that ever lived. But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He’s not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person.

–Linda Loman speaking of her husband, Willie Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman

Blues music is filled with such universal cries from the heart. One that particularly resonates is Albert King’s 1967 classic, Born Under a Bad Sign (lyrics by William Bell, music by Booker T. Jones). Albert King’s version is a landmark in electric-blues history, leavening the self-pity with humor: “if it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all.” (The original recording is here.)

Here is Joe Bonamassa, one of today’s best blues/rock guitarists, with backup singers that remind me of Ray Charles’ “Raylettes.”

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